Thai Government Urged: Act Now On WiMax

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Government urged: Act now on WiMax

Intel says increased broadband access will lift GDP

The world's largest semiconductor company, Intel, has urged the government to urgently make wireless broadband frequency available in Thailand, to encourage business on the Internet and to boost the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The company says wireless technology is most suitable for achieving increased Internet use, and the best wireless technology is WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). It is a technology suitable for current investment that would help Thailand to move forward quickly.

The advice has come from Intel Corporation's executive director for communication policy Peter K Pitsch, who is recognised in the United States as a top lobbyist not only for Intel, but also for a coalition of technology companies eager to accelerate the spread of broadband, or high-speed, Internet access.

He said the Internet was not only big and continuously growing, but was also a "game changer". Business over the Internet was contributing more than 2 per cent of GDP in the US and every 10-million Internet connections meant a boost of more than US$1 billion (Bt33.06 billion) for GDP.

The Thai government, through the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), should get spectrum [allocated operating frequency] to the market quickly, to allow private-sector operators to invest in current technology at the best cost, as well as preventing the loss of national competitiveness, he said.

"In Southeast Asia, Thailand is the only country in which the government has not yet established plans and policies to make WiMax networks available, while neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines do [have these plans] and Indonesia is going to do it this year," Pitsch said.

Thailand could benefit from lower WiMax-investment costs because many other countries in the region have been investing in the technology, and this will bring the cost of WiMax infrastructure and equipment down dramatically, he said.

"Currently, there are 61 WiMax service providers in 18 countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It is estimated that around 300 WiMax devices are now available and around 180 more are under development. This means WiMax is now a vibrant ecosystem and so attractive, with lower latency of the underlying technology," Pitsch said.

He suggested that the NTC should develop attractive regulations and policies surrounding WiMax to draw international investment. It should involve the 2.3GHz band, with 30MHz of frequency per provider.

"2.3MHz was the spectrum chosen by many countries around the world and its adoption would mean that WiMax equipment, devices, solutions and services would be lower-priced because they would come from a mainstream market, leading to cheaper products for Thai consumers," Pitsch said. "An allocation of at least 30MHz of frequency would help operators to generate better returns on their investment, and offer attractions for investors."

He emphasised his belief that a wireless-broadband infrastructure was very important, and would affect both the country's GDP and its competitiveness.

According to a consultancy report called "Connected Nation", prepared in the US for President Barack Obama's broadband policy, there are about 4 billion people in the world who need a broadband connection. Only 400 million have such a connection. The report said an increase in broadband adoption in the US of about 7 per cent could boost the economy by $134 billion (Bt4.43 trillion) and create 2.35 million jobs. At the same time, the availability of a wireless-broadband network would create a consumer surplus around 18 times the value of the spectrum.

Pitsch said WiMax could be a key factor in driving an increase in Thailand's broadband-penetration rate, and every 1 per cent of broadband penetration equalled one per cent of growth in GDP.

The government first had to make WiMax frequencies available, with a clear directive. Then, private organisations could build their business plans. He warned that if the government delayed the spectrum assignment, it would have to bear the cost of this indecision, which would amount to a loss in value of about 25 per cent if the delay lasted for three years.

Last year, Pitsch and other Intel executives, including its general manger for Asia-Pacific Navin Shenoy and director of sales and marketing for Southeast Asia Debjani Ghosh, urged the Thai government to give more attention to improving information-and-communications-technology (ICT) education, to digital-infrastructure investment, and to spending on WiMax to bridge the country's "digital divide". They said the necessary investments could come from the Thai Khemkhaeng project. To date, nothing has happened.

However, Intel has launched its own mission called "5 by 10", which aims to push Thailand to reach 5 million broadband ports before the end of this year. The aim is consistent with the government's goal to increase the personal computer-penetration rate for students from 40 students for every computer to 20 for every computer within the next three years.

Intel has undertaken to support government investments with knowledge, experience and technology transfer. It is not committed to any financial investments. However, Intel Capital has invested in WiMax networks in Taiwan, Japan, Australia and Malaysia, at a total cost of between $20 million and $50 million (Bt658.8 million and Bt1.64 billion).

-- The Nation 2010-03-02

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